Britain's Troubles Going Green

Things aren't as green as they appear in Great Britain

Brendan Mackie Utne.com

| September 5, 2007

The United Kingdom is facing a crisis of environmental will.
Many Britons claim they are committed to reducing their ecological
footprint, but recent evidence suggests that most would prefer to
appear environmentally responsible, rather than actually changing
their lifestyles. Scratch the surface Britain's green façade, and
things look the same as ever.

The country is in the grip of a new trend in 'green guilt,'
reports the UK's Daily Telegraph. A
recent survey shows that more than half of Britons regard
'unethical living' as morally akin to drunken driving. On the
same survey, nine in ten respondents lied to exaggerate their
commitment to the environment. 'What our study shows,' said Paul
Stokes of Norwich Union, the group that managed the surveys, 'is
that people are consistently pretending to have changed their
behavior rather than actually doing it.' More than half of those
surveyed felt guilty about not having a recycling bin, but more
than half also reported that they were 'unlikely' to change
their lifestyles to help the environment.

The British government, it seems, has the much same problem.
This spring, Britain pledged to use renewable sources for 20
percent of its energy by 2020.
A government report obtained by the
Guardian, however, reveals that officials are
already figuring out ways to avoid living up to the pledge. The
report suggests that government ministers should examine
creative 'statistical interpretations of the target,' rather
than figuring out ways to meet the goal. Actually cleaning up
Britain's energy sources, the government has suggested, would be
too difficult.